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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Thirty

Today’s my 30th birthday.

Even though a lot of people think of thirty as some kind of “OHMYGOD I’M SO OLD
WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!?” wake-up call, I’m happy to report that I don’t
feel that way.

It probably has something to do with how I’ve always
approached birthdays—basically with a nagging sense that it just means I’m one
year closer to being put in the ground. Just another shovelful of dirt out of
the hole that will eventually house my bones.

You know what would get me? Something like needing bifocals.
That would be a “YOUR BODY IS FAILING
YOU!” alert.

Maybe even more than that, though, I guess I already had
that wake-up call a couple of years ago when I decided to make a go of it as a
writer.

Would I do it again? In the words of Lt. Sam Weinberg,
“Every day of the week and twice on Sundays.” I’ve learned an incredible amount
about the craft of writing, business, sports, and most importantly, myself,
over this past two years. I can’t tell if it’s personal growth that’s been
accelerated by the past two years, or two years of making up for many more
years before of personal neglect and retardation.

I mean, I’ll admit it; I once was incredibly lazy. Not in
terms of my school work or, later, my professional work, mind you; I always put
in plenty of “work” in both regards.

Rather I speak of neglecting the stuff I really wanted to be
doing: writing books, writing scripts, just flat-out writing. Pursuing what
fulfilled me, and caused me to work late into the night for no good reason,
other than “this must be done.”

It’s something to think about: do we hold ourselves back when we’re not
pursuing fulfilling work? Do we prevent ourselves from reaching our true
potential, the self-actualization that this blog used to preach?

I’m not entirely sure. I’m just having a blast.

To celebrate this year, the paperback of Hack: The Complete Game comes out today
for those of you who don’t have ereaders or who just prefer paper to pixels. It’s
up on Amazon here, so take a look if
interested.

Here’s to thirty more…and hopefully another thirty after that…and,
well, with the way modern medicine is going, you never know…

My most sincere thanks to all of you who have been along for
the ride thus far, and to those who will hop on board in the years to come.